Do we have a choice regarding what happens after we die? Is reincarnation real? Is there life after death? What about karma?

What Happens After Death

People have always wondered what -- if anything -- lies beyond the grave. Is death the end of existence, an entry into eternity, or an intermission between earthly lives? Some teach that the soul reincarnates in many different bodies, and approximately 25 percent of Americans believe it. Why are so many people drawn to reincarnation?

Reincarnation and Karma

Reincarnation offers hope to many. If we don't get it right in this life, we have another chance the next time around. Yet, even those who believe in reincarnation admit that the vast majority of humans do not remember their previous lives. How can we learn from our past mistakes if we cannot remember them? We seem to make the same mistakes over and over again. Given the moral failure rate of human history, do we have any reason to hope that we will get it right in a future lifetime?

Reincarnation also claims to insure justice. According to the law of karma (an unbending and impersonal rule of the universe), we get what we deserve in every life. Our good and bad deeds produce good and bad results from lifetime to lifetime. With karma, there is supposedly no unjust suffering, because no one is innocent. All suffering is deserved on the basis of bad karma. The baby born without legs deserved it, as did the woman who was raped. We all carry our karma into each life. There is no grace, no forgiveness, no mercy. Not only is this not good news for those burdened down with the weight of a troubled conscience, but karma also conflicts with our moral sense that some suffering is undeserved and deserves our pity and our actions to alleviate it.

The Limitations of Reincarnation

Can reincarnation realistically offer hope and a sense of justice to a troubled world? And what comfort does it offer regarding the nagging problem of death? The law of karma is unmerciful. Yet the message of Jesus Christ is different. Jesus did not deny there is unjust suffering. He offered forgiveness for those who inflict it and comfort for those that experience it.

Why is such a scheme flawed? Because it doesn't take into account the sinfulness of man. The Bible says that all people have sinned and fall short of God's glory Romans 3:23, that all have turned from God and gone their own waynIsaiah 53:6, that there is not even one person who does good Psalm 53:3, and that there is no one who doesn't sin. Ecclesiastes 7:20

Jesus taught that no one can keep the moral law. The human heart is impure, given to wrong attitudes and actions which are offenses against a loving and absolutely good God. Jesus said he offers us forgiveness as our savior, himself paying for our offenses against God. Jesus spoke of people receiving either eternal reward or eternal punishment according to whether they accept his forgiveness during their ONE lifetime on earth (Matthew 25:31-46; see also Hebrews 9:27). Jesus explained that he came into the world "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). He said that he "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).

Jesus showed his forgiving love even while being executed on a cross. A thief on a cross next to Jesus confessed his sin and asked Jesus to remember him. Jesus responded, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). Only faith in Jesus was required for paradise, not lifetime after lifetime of working off bad karma and building up good karma. As Jesus announced: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). That, indeed, is good news -- for this life and beyond.

No one in human history has made the claims Jesus made and given such great proofs to back them up. He claimed to be God, to be able to forgive sins, and to be the only way through which we can know God the Father. Jesus backed up those claims through his resurrection from the dead. He is, truly, the most unique person who ever lived...much more than a great teacher.

The Bible says that Jesus was God who became man -- "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." He was "the exact representation of his [God's] being." In short, Jesus Christ revealed exactly what God is like. So how do we begin a relationship with him?

We don't begin a relationship with God by trying to be a better person. Trying harder to win God's approval is not the way he wants us to live. Have you ever been in a relationship with someone in which you had to try to win that person's approval? It's no fun.

God has such a genuine love for us that he himself provided the way for us to get close to him...but there is a problem. Currently, what stands in the way of us connecting with God is our sin (of self-centeredness shown by our anger, our hurtful words, our impatience, our selfishness, greed, etc.). If you've ever wondered why your prayers seem to go nowhere, that is why. Our sin has separated us from God, who is holy.

So what has God done so we can have a close relationship with him? Jesus Christ ("God in the flesh") took all of our dragons on his shoulders. while he willingly died on a cross. He took them to hell, slayed them there and then conquered the last dragon of death by His resurrection so we could be completely forgiven, completely acceptable to him, and be with him forever.

This is exactly what Jesus did for each of us on the cross. He made the great sacrifice of being beaten, humiliated, whipped and crucified on our behalf. He now asks us to respond to his sacrifice by inviting him into our lives.

More to Life: Knowing God

He wants us to know him and to experience his love, joy and peace. When we ask him into our lives, we receive his forgiveness, and we begin a relationship with him that's meant to last forever. Jesus said, "I stand at the door (of your heart) and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him (or her)."

If this is now the desire of your heart, the following is a suggested prayer (but the words aren't as important as the attitude of your heart):

Dear God, I confess that I have sinned against you. Thank you for taking all of my sin upon yourself on the cross. I want to receive your forgiveness. I want to enter into a relationship with you. I ask you to come into my life as my Savior and Lord. Please give me the real life that comes only from you.

What Was Your Decision?